Digitalbox PLC (AIM:DBOX) this week shared its interim results for the first half of 2025, reporting growth across multiple performance indicators despite ongoing market volatility.
The company said revenue rose by 12% over the period, supported by a 15% increase in page impressions and a 30% rise in overall audience reach. It highlighted that this growth was achieved during a period where advertising market trends were broadly negative.
Digitalbox attributed its performance to three factors: increased audience engagement, improved advertising values, and diversification of its revenue base. The company said its approach to operating both on the open web and within major platform ecosystems has helped it capture new revenue streams.
CEO James Carter joined the Proactive studio, and here we take a closer look at what was said.
Proactive: James, very good to speak with you. You're out with your interim results, which appear to be very positive. Can you tell us what the key drivers were?
James Carter: Yes. Good morning, Stephen. The key influence behind the results for the first half of this year has been increased audience engagement, growth in advertising values, and diversified revenue sources.
Drilling into those — audience engagement relates to the time people spend with our content. We’ve grown the number of page impressions by 15% compared to last year. Advertising values also improved. If you look at the Ezoic Advertising Index, H1 2024 was ahead of H1 2025 by about 5% to 10%. So we’ve managed to buck the trend by increasing session values and growing our revenues by 12%.
Diversification has also been key. Since AI tools rolled out a year and a half to two years ago, we’ve recognized the need to increasingly exist within platform environments — the walled gardens of the major tech platforms. We’ve monetised that increasingly well and grown our portfolio, which has strengthened the business.
Proactive: Can you tell us a bit more about the on-platform monetisation, James?
James Carter: Yes, certainly. When AI tools began to roll out, we felt major platforms would increasingly keep users within their ecosystems, and that’s been the case. That gives publishers two options — continue with the open web or increase engagement within those walled gardens.
Since we floated the business, we’ve grown from 3.5 million to nearly 30 million social followers. That’s driven significant growth in reach and engagement. We’re now delivering over 700 million in audience reach over H1 — up 30% year-on-year. That reach helped us grow on-platform revenues from £160,000 in H1 2024 to £400,000 in H1 2025.
Proactive: Just going back to audience engagement — can you tell us more?
James Carter: Audience engagement reflects a few things. Overall page impressions were up 15%. The TV Guide performed strongly, growing sessions by 25%. The Tab was up 38% in page impressions. That means we’re spending more time with consumers, and that translates to more monetisation. It's a strong result in a challenging market.
Proactive: After a good first half, how does the future look?
James Carter: It’s fair to say macro conditions are turbulent — across the economy and the media market. But that also creates opportunities. Some businesses are challenged by these changes, which opens up growth opportunities for us. Our agile approach helps us navigate choppy waters. We’ve already shown that by delivering growth even as the wider advertising market is down. We remain optimistic about building momentum into 2026 and launching further products.
Proactive: You mentioned opportunities. Does that mean more acquisitions, James?
James Carter: Yes, we continue to look at acquisition opportunities, including more diverse ones to future-proof the business. I can’t say what we’re currently looking at, but we’d like to announce further acquisitions. In H1, we acquired The Life Network from Video Chain and a couple of smaller bolt-ons. We’d like to deploy more of our cash to move forward with more deals.
Proactive: James, I’ll be chatting to you again very soon then.